Jenny, But I Can't Come Home Right Now
by MegaJinxed13
Summary: In an attempt to show Jenny that she still needs some growing up to do, Rufus lets a dark secret slip. Fearing that her whole life she's been living could be a lie, Jenny goes searching for answers, only to find herself with even bigger and more questions than ever before. With the help of Nate, Jenny searches for the past: Who is Beth? (Full Summary Inside)


**Full Summary:** In an attempt to show Jenny that she still needs some growing up to do, Rufus lets a dark secret slip. Fearing that her whole life she's been living could be a lie, Jenny goes searching for answers, only to find herself with even bigger and more questions than ever before. With her mother focusing on things that could only lead to trouble, Jenny enlists the help of Nate as they try to find the truth but truth comes at a price! Could Jenny's rebellious personality really just be a case of nature vs. nurture? And if so, what will she find in Lima, Ohio? However, the main question that's on everyone's minds is: Who is Beth?

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 _ **AN:/ So this is only my second story on FF so plz be careful. Unlike my other one that is currently still in progress it's a Nate/Jenny pairing. This popped into my head one day when I was binge watching Gossip Girl (Don't Own!) and Glee (Don't Own!) on Netflix. What if things were a little skeward? Perhaps Glee was set before GG or maybe the timeline were further in the future. What if Rufus didn't marry Alison but instead Shelby Corcoran? What could they possibly keep from their rebelious daughter. This takes place in season 2 of GG (I'm thinking right after Serena Also Rises) and at the complete end of Glee. This will explain why we didn't see anymore of Quick in the final episode or all of the other characters. Though this is mainly centered on Jenny, everyone from both shows (that are major characters, in my opinion) will appear. I will have a couple OC's in here because they will be needed to guide the main ones but I'll warn you if they are important or not. For instance, one character will play a major role and be helpful along with quirky to this storyline. Plz leave reviews bc I luv them and it shows me how much you enjoy or not enjoy the story. Tell me what you think!**_

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 **XOXO  
**

Jenny Humphrey had found herself in this predicament time and time again. Her father and herself were currently at odds with one another. For what, Jenny can't imagine why. Rufus Humphrey had always been a free spirit and for that Jenny thought he'd be more supportive in her trying to make a name for herself, maybe even become _somebody_ , other than Little J. This however did not seem to be the case as they fell into this distinctive pattern of her doing something not to his liking (even when it didn't seem that bad to begin with), her Dad warning her not to do it, she doing it anyway in ten fold because he told her she can't, and him trying to foil her and punish her. In all honesty, Dan has done much worse things but for some reason her dad has double standards when it comes to his harsh parenting ways of her and her older brother. Needless to say, Jenny was currently grounded, meaning no human contact until her Dad sees fit. Honestly, she sort of thinks she deserves. Yeah, not allowing her Dad into Eleanor's fashion show was a big jerky move on her end but so far nothing had been going on course, no thanks to Blair and Serena's rivalry, and the fact that her dad would have been there to see everything in shambles didn't help her act of judgment. She needed to do it though. Jenny saved it from disaster and now she just needed to make him see that.

Everyone was out right now and Jenny was stuck in there loft trying to find a certain fabric pattern to make an outfit. Moving to the storage closest, Jenny saw some up on the high shelf. Her Dad or Dan must have put it there when they were clearing out space for something. Getting on her tippy toes, Jenny reached for the cloth, only to grab it and the box it was sitting over, to come crashing down. Silently hissing when the box fell on her toe, Jenny dropped to her knees and tried to pick up the contents and put them in back in the cardboard crate. Most of them were legal papers. Scrunching her eyes as she skimmed through them. She couldn't understand most but a couple names kept popping up. Her Dad's, Mom's, Dan's, and some girl named Bethany.

' _Well, maybe it's junk mail?_ ' Jenny thought to herself. After all it wasn't unheard of that her dad got tons of junk mail from others thinking that him and her mother were still married or from some local synagogue addressed to Jenny (' **We live in New York but how Jewish do you get with Jennifer Humphrey?** ' Dan would joke and her Dad would always answer back, equally as playful, that it must be a fluke) or the newest performing art school wanting more promising young students to join. When she was little, Jenny remembers her Mom and Dad would get the same junk mail from the same people and they'd just throw it out or hide it in their room pretending that it wasn't important.

Sighing, Jenny just put all of the papers back in the box and started to pack it all up. One paper was wedged underneath some of the stuff that it had fallen with and it looked like especially important. Paying no mind, she stuffed it back in with the other things and set the box back on its shelf. Closing the door and going about her business. Poor Jenny should have been more observant of those items.

 **XOXO**

As Jenny and Erik were walking along the streets, Jenny's curiosity strayed to the box she had found yesterday. Her Dad had allowed for her to walk with Erik on his way back from school and is putting into consideration on watching Jenny work at Eleanor's the day after tomorrow, to see whether she should continue going to school or begin a jump start on a potential career. Which means they're making progress, a slow progress but progress none the less.

Erik and her are laughing about something that happened in one of Erik's classes that day, when they hear a obscenely pitched voice. "OMG!" Suddenly, a whirlwind of a small brunette with a big bow plopped on her head, wide brown doe eyes, a normally peculiar outfit but completely working for this younger girl, and a hundred dollar watt smile that could only be connected to her rambling mouth appeared. "You're Jenny Humphrey and Erik van der Woodsen!" She squealed, nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "You two are on Gossip Girl! I subscribe and read every post! I'm a _complete_ Chair shipper but seriously J, N and Lonely Boy – I mean your brother, are _so_ bonding as friends so you and Nate should **_so_** get together! We've all seen the hints," Jenny was all three mortified, irritated, and totally scarred at how fast this girl was talking about their lives a million miles per second. "I even have your couple name for you two. It's up for debate but what do you think of Nenny or Jate?" Before Jenny could even utter how amazingly ridiculous this whole thing was, the girl cut her off. "Personally, I'm leaning more towards Jate, it sounds better but I think Nenny isn't _too_ bad sounding either."

Erik who was equally astounded by this tiny girl, decided to voice his opinion, not even bothering to wipe the incredulous look off his face or out of his mouth. "Oh my god." Sharing his open mouthed stare with Jenny, he turned back to the ever smiling perky brunette. "Even middle schoolers spread the dirt on us."

Getting her wits and composure about her, though the headache was still drilling in her head, Jenny decided to get to the bottom of this. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

Laughing a little the bow haired girl flushed a little. "I'm sorry, _where_ are my manners? Hello," She curtsied in front of them with the ever perky dimpled smile that Jenny was sure could have broken a person's face on any other human being. "I'm Finnley Anderson-Hummel. I go to St. Beauregard's Prep School for Secondary Students!" Taking her in with her odd ball but definitely high class and in style fashion sense, her large but defining bow on her hair that could easily be switched out for a headband, the curtsy, and the enigmatic nature and energetic as a bunny personality, Jenny felt that this little girl could give Blair a run for her money. The only difference is that where Blair's personality was a hard to handle because it was a mask to hide her bitchy tendencies, this girl's disposition seemed true to her and was definitely a handful _because_ it was in – your – face and confident. Honestly Jenny couldn't tell if she liked Finnley, was mildly amused by her, or was quickly connecting that she's the reason for Jenny's ever growing migraine.

Not so stealthy whispering to Jenny, Erik cleared up some things for her. "Both her dads are famous Broadway actors and are spokes people for the _Keep the Arts Alive_ Act."

Nodding, Jenny still couldn't get a read on the girl's intentions. "Well it was great meeting you Finnley but Erik and I have to do..." She trailed off and looked to her best friend for help but Erik seemed just as confused as ever.

"Uh...stuff!" Erik thought quickly.

Jenny just nodded along with it, even if she knew that this wasn't Erik's or her finest moments. "Right stuff!"

" _Really_ **_important_** stuff!" Erik backed up trying to sound all official. "Best to leave now so it gets done, right Jenny?" He looked to the other blond in panic.

"Right?" Instantly, Jenny remembered that little girls who love gossip have big mouths and can spin anything they want into a story for Gossip Girl and already this Finnley had amplified her big mouth for them, plus Jenny and Erik were trying _not_ to be the subject of bad attention this year. "Right! Lots of stuff, little time, ciao!" And with that Jenny grabbed Erik's arm and made a bee line for the direction of her loft, not bothering to look back at the eagerly waving girl.

 **XOXO**

After Erik and her parted ways, Jenny found her night filled with her Dad, brother, and Nate ('H _e's crashing here tonight._ ' Dan answered back) All in for a night of fun, cheesy movie and soccer references, and board games. Their Dad was the first one to call it a night and after that Dan got an urgent text from Serena so that they could meet. This left Nate and Jenny to clean up the remainders of Life and put the Chinese in the fridge. As Jenny went to put the game back the box she had previously been thinking about that day just so happened to start falling. Nate dropped what he was doing and tried to push Jenny out of the way but the box came crashing down anyway. This resulted with Nate and Jenny on their butts on the floor. Laughing, Nate wondered how Rufus could sleep through a crash like that to which Jenny replied that he was a former rock star and that he could sleep through anything.

Starting to pile up the papers again, something about one of them caught Nate's eye. "Whoa."

Shooting her head up and scooting beside him, Jenny questioned. "What, what is it?"

Nate's face was scrunched in perplexity. "It's a birth certificate."

"So?" Jenny asked, not really seeing what made that so strange.

Handing it to her, Nate tried to point out the flaw. "Here, take a look." At first, Jenny didn't see the reason to be so curious. She's sure that her parents each had a copy of hers and Dan's somewhere and though Jenny had never seen her own before, she knew that they had to keep them on record for school. However on closer examination, Jenny saw what had baffled Nate so profusely. The name on this birth certificate was not one she had ever seen before. The description read everything right. Female, Caucasian, blond hair, blue eyes, ten little fingers, ten little toes, a small brown Marilyn Monroe beauty mark just above the left side of the baby's upper lip, and all the ounces to make up a premature baby. All in all the perfect description for an infant Jenny Humphrey. The problem? The certificate was made out to Lima, Ohio General Hospital. Her mother's name was listed on the document but neither her Dad's or Jenny's were. In fact, though it was the perfect description for baby Jenny, that wasn't the name that was read on the certificate. No, what it read was something entirely different. On the birth certificate it read: Bethany Jennifer Corcoran.

For a second, Jenny was stunned. Corcoran had been her mother's maiden name but other than that everything was...off. Remembering that Nate was still there, Jenny saw from the corner of her eye as he flipped through the papers of some of the documents. "They're adoption papers." He pointed out as he skimmed through them. "The first set, well they basically say that the original parents give up the rights to the child to a woman named Shelby Corcoran."

Jenny was still so confused. "That's my mom."

"Okay...the next set of papers tell how your dad takes full responsibility for this Bethany girl," Nate explained flipping through the papers. "And the last set reveals-" Nate suddenly went dead silent. Jenny was panicking. Starting to put two and two together, she didn't want to believe what her mind was already jumping to conclusions for. "What?" She demanded. "What is it Nate?!" Her voice cracked towards the end as she just pulled the documents from his hands. Staring at the legal languaged words Jenny read each peace and digested them to their fullest. It was telling of a name change. Attached to the document was a picture of a toddler described as the baby on the birth certificate, described as a younger Jenny. Out of shock Jenny dropped the papers to the floor and tried to breathe. The last few lines could be summed up (in lament terms) as such:

And therefore, the name Bethany Jennifer Corcoran shall be changed to Jennifer Tallulah Humphrey with the official adoption from Rufus Humphrey. Now taking joint custody with adoptive mother, Shelby Corcoran.

Jenny felt as though all the air was being sucked out of her lungs, in that moment. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware that Nate was calling her name, trying to shake her out of it but she couldn't bring herself to snap out. Finally, Jenny grabbed all the papers and ran to the kitchen counter to shove them in her knockoff designer tote bag. Nate stood up quickly, getting behind her, not sure when she would break but knowing that if couldn't be that much longer. Pulling on a small sweater, she grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

Frantically, Nate followed her down the stairs as she briskly walked down the street. "Jenny? Jenny!" Nate called out, catching up to her as she got to the nearest bus stop. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Finding answers." The small girl answered as if she were just telling the teacher what she put down for question 27.

"On a bus!" Nate exclaimed incredulously as one began to pull forward.

"I can't wait!" Jenny burst. Nate looked at her intently while he felt the hurt in her body language roll off in waves. "I can't go to my Dad." She answered more calmly, trying to phrase why not. "We're not exactly seeing eye to eye right now and the only other person who holds answers is my Mother." As the bus came to a full stop, Jenny whined at how Nate getting involved was not something that she wanted to be thrown her way. None of this was what she wanted. "Maybe I'm a constant disappointment to my father but maybe there's a reason for it. And if what these papers say is true, then maybe it's not that I'm a disappointment but a reminder."

Nate sighed, staring down at her. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get on that bus and head to Hudson. Hopefully, my Mom knows what's going on." Jenny told him.

"Yeah," Nate knew that she had made up her mind already but he still had to try. "But what if..." Trailing off, they both knew what the open ended question was filled with. _**What if you**_ _ **find**_ _ **what you're looking for?**_

Jenny nodded, not so much for him but for herself. "Then I'll know where I belong." Seeing the distraught friend before her, Jenny couldn't help but feel guilty. "I'm sorry, you don't have to keep this secret for me this time Nate. I didn't mean for this to happen or to get you involved."

Trying to make her feel better, Nate offered a small smile. "I'm already involved. You ready to find what you're looking for in Hudson?"

Jenny's eyes widened. "You're coming with me? What about school?"

Nate chuckled. "My family is currently in a slump, I don't anyone's going to notice if you and I turn up missing for a few days."

Gesturing to the bus with her head Jenny smiled softly. "Come on. Hudson is only a few hours away."

If only Hudson was the final destination.

 **XOXO**

Getting into her mother's apartment in Hudson was easy, it was making sure that her mother would listen to that wasn't. " _This_ , is your mother's place?" Nate asked glancing around the spacious apartment.

"Yeah," Jenny confirmed, walking further in. "My mother was some hit back in the day and then taught after school arts programs before I was even born. She didn't talk about it much but I think she missed it. After her and Dad got divorced, he got us and she got the money."

"Huh." Nate could only say, still in awe of it all.

"Mom?!" Jenny yelled out.

"Jenny?" Her mother stepped forward. Nate had never personally seen Shelby Humphrey but taking in her attributes it was clear that if there were anyone more opposite looking to Jenny, it was her mother. While Jenny's blond short hair (now currently growing out for her little power stunt from running with Penelope and the girls last year) cascaded down her soft lightly colored tone (though she did get a nice bronze color in the summer) her mother's own hair was a chocolate brown against beige skin. The bone structure was all off too. A heart shaped face rounded out on Jenny, while Ms. Humphrey had a more square like build. The first thing that Nate noticed however was that her mother and her didn't share the same lips. While the brunette held a full lip on the bottom and a thinner one up top that just smoothed along, his blond friend had perfect lips that weren't at all like her mother's.

"Hi." Jenny said timidly.

"What are you doing here?" Shelby asked thrown off. She suddenly noticed Nate. "Who's this?"

Ignoring her, Jenny snapped out of her stumper and moved closer to her mom pulling out the papers. "What are these?" Taking the outstretched files, Shelby read over the familiar document.

When recognition passed over the older woman, she became quiet. "How'd you find them?"

Jenny tried holding back the tears that were threating to burst. Her mother wasn't denying the legitimacy of those words on the documents, meaning that they weren't some hoax and that this wasn't some dream that she was going to wake up from. "What's that mean Mom?" She asked her voice breaking. "Why'd you have my name changed?" She demanded more forcefully.

Shelby tried to think of something that wasn't a lie but wouldn't hurt the little girl she always used to sing to to get her to go to bed. "Jenny, you have to understand-"

" _I_ don't have to understand anything. You just have to explain." Jenny couldn't take this. Nate felt like he wasn't of much help so he told Jenny that he would wait outside the door.

Closing the distance between them, Shelby decided it was for the best to just get it over with. "Your father and I made the mistake in getting married. You were just a toddler, still a baby but we had to do this to really become a family." When Jenny didn't say anything Shelby went on. "I had met your Dad, a single father, his previous girlfriend had left him to take care of Dan by himself. He was charming because really, if there is anything that your Dad is, it's charming. We'd gotten along and soon I found myself in a serious relationship. You...you weren't mine to begin with." Jenny just stood there with a heartbreaking face and Shelby wanted so desperately to comfort her but from what Rufus had been mentioning lately, her biological genes had been taking on their form and comforting a wounded rebellious teen hadn't always been the best choice, in Shelby's experience. "I had told your Dad of the situation. How your birth father got your birth mother pregnant their sophomore year of high school and how they both knew they couldn't raise you but then your mother tried to get you back later on and how it all went up in smoke. We didn't want to see you being fought over, being hurt again." Shelby explained but just shook her head. "When your father and I decided to get married we both felt that it would be best if Beth Corcoran disappeared altogether. Jennifer was the middle name that your birth mother gave you and I thought it was pretty." Jenny's tears silently slipped down her cheeks but she stayed strong in not sobbing. "However, when we got divorced your father got you and Dan and I was left alone again."

"Well that was kind of _your_ choice, wasn't it?" Even if Shelby knew that Jenny was only saying that because the young girl was hurt and wanted to hurt her back, it still stung.

"I wanted to be a mother for the longest time." Shelby told her, while tears built up in the older woman's eyes as well. "But I had already had my daughter, a baby girl I gave up to a nice loving couple who could take care of her. I wanted another chance but like I said, you were never mine to begin with." Sighing, Shelby got ready to unleash what she had been holding inside for so long. "Your parents finally made it, you know? Got their life together, became less of broken record and more of a harmony. They were from Lima, Ohio but I'm sure you've already figured that out already."

"Their names, Mother." Jenny ground out, trying not to show weakness, not to show how badly things had gone. How she found what she was looking for. How much it hurt.

Shelby gave in. "Quinn Fabray and Puck."

"Puck?" Jenny raised an eyebrow at that.

Shelby laughed a little, remembering the strange teen with the mohawk. "Noah Puckerman but he liked to think he was a tough guy so Puck it was."

Nodding sullenly, Jenny turned to leave out the door. When she opened it, she found Nate standing waiting for her. "We really did love you." Shelby called out. "Rufus and I. We just wanted-"

"What's best." Jenny finished. "I know." and with that she shut the door.

Shelby waited five minutes before dialing Rufus' number.

 **XOXO**

 **Credits**

 **Episode Title:** Jenny, I Know You're Trying (Pt. I)

 **Cast:**

Jenny Humphrey - Taylor Momsen

Nate Archibald - Chase Crawford

Shelby Corcoran - Idina Menzel

Rufus Humphrey - Matthew Settle

Dan Humphrey - Penn Badgley

Erik van der Woodsen - Connor Paolo

Finnley Anderson-Hummel - Camila Cabello


End file.
